ruger



Feb, 7, 1956 Filed July 28, 1955 W. B. RUGER CYLINDER STCP FOR A REVOLVER 2 Sheets-Sheet l Feb. 7, 1956 w. e. RUGER CYLINDER STOP FOR A REVOLVER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July 28, 1955 M w W w CW, m

CYLINDER .stroll .non A Vius-voirvnlz William B. Ruger, Greens Farms, Coun., assigner to Sturm, Ruger ,and Company, Inc., Southport, Coun., a 'corporation of Connecticut Application July 28, 1953, Serial No. 370,732

3 Claims. (Cl. I2- 67) This invention lrelates 'to rearms, .and has for its .object the provision of certain improvements in revolvers. Revolvers of well known 'and common construction have certain characteristic A'elements including .a cylinder rotated .in increments by a pawl which is operatively Iconnected to the hammer, a trigger, a latch for locking the cylinder in firing position, and springmeans operatively interconnecting 4the hammer Yand latch .iforsetting .the .latch in locking position lfortiring and releasing the latch .for :loading and unloading. :My invention lis particularly .concerned with improvements in the hammer, trigger, ilatch andassociated operating means. f

`My invention `provides animproved latch-operating vand releasing device ,whichis positive in .operation Aandtof iinherently durable :construction comprising a vspring-.operated plungermountedinzthe hammer-which is proportioned and positioned to engage an vend portion Iofthe .latch and press a locking portion thereof .into A:locking engagement with a notch of the cylinder when the hammer is fully cocked and to release .the latch las the `hammer is being cocked so that the pawl can `turn the :cylinder to another position for tiring, and as the hammer moves toits Afully cocked position to apply such positive .pressure on the latch that it vsnaps into locking position in the next notch of the cylinder. p

I-n another aspect, the invention provides a torsion coil spring for the latch having one end secured in a hole in the grip frame of the revolver and the other end in bearing engagement with the latch.

The invention also provides an improved hammer strut and hammer connection therefor comprising a torsion coil spring and strut combination which facilitate machining and simplify assembly, and an improved trigger spring and bearing rod mounted in the grip frame.

These and other objects of the invention will be better understood after considering the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary elevation, with parts in section, of a revolver embodying my invention with the hammer in ring position and the latch in locking position;

Fig. 2 is a View similar to that of Fig. l showing an intermediate position of the hammer with the latch in unlocking position;

Fig. 3 is another view similar to that of Fig. l with the hammer moved rearward to a position where the latch has moved into locking position;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view at 4-4 of Fig. 1

Fig. 5 is a sectional view from below at 5-5 of Fig. l;

Fig. 6 is a sectional view from below at 6-6 of Fig, l;

Fig. 7 is a sectional view at 7 7 of Fig. l;

Fig. 8 is a perspective of the hammer with a part removed;

Fig. 9 is a perspective of the hammer strut;

Fig. l() is a perspective of the latch-operating plunger, and

Fig. 1l is a perspective of the latch.

The improved revolver of my invention illustrated in nited States Patent 0 2,733,529 Patented Feb. V7, 1956 2 the `drawings Vhas the general characteristics of construction `and function of :a famous single-action revolver of great popularity but no longer in production. The revolver comprises -a-grip frame lconnected by-screw Zand other screws not yshown to the `cylinder frame 3. -The cylinder 4 of more or :less conventional construction is rotatably mounted in ythe frame 3 on I.the shaft or pin 5 which .is removably :attached to `the frame bythe spring catch 6. The cylinder has the Ausual :ratchet teeth 7 fby means .ofwhich .it is turned from rfiring position to tiring position by the usual gpawlshown in broken lines in Figs. l and 2 which is .held against the ratchet teeth by the spring 9 yand plunger 10 Valso shown in broken lines. The pawl is connected to the'ihammer `12 -by the pin 13. Since `the invention pertains :to single-actionrevolvers, the Ahammer is cocked by Yhand and :the `cylinder is turned only .when the hammer is fcocked. The cylinder has a locking notch I14 for eachcartridge yposition and a-sloping entrance cut 15 for progressive entrance ofthe latch. The cylinderfof the invention has a :narrow annular groove 16 in its rearward-end face .which touts across the cartridge chambers :17 to provide clearance for pin.

The hammer 12 is .pivotally connected to-the frame 3 by the screw'ZS andcan swing from the firing fposition of Fig. l to lthe lfully cocked 4position shown in broken lines Fig. 3. The hammer has 1.a narrow -slot '21 milled vout in the back in the plane of the hammer Vmovement for receiving the flat hammer strut 22. A hole23 .(Fig. 8) is lbored through the :hammer transverse `to 'theslot -2-1 and ythe cylindrical surface 241thereof forms :a bearing pocket in which .the .cylindrically shaped end 25 (Fig. 9) of -the strut Amakes vbearingengagement with the hammer. The strut :has a :follower .rod portion `26 yfor =the hammer spring 27. The springibears .upwardly against Vthe strutanddownwardly :againsta channel-shaped bracket 28 which straddles two .lugs 29 and 30ofthe frame -1 (Figs. 1 and 7). The follower :rod slides in ia rectangular hole 82 fin the bracket, `the hole 33 lbeing provided fin=thestrut forfthe insertionsof a pin in eassembling 1 the hammer spring. The hammer has three notches for engaging the sear end of the trigger, a safety notch 34 for holding the hammer off the ring pin, an unlocking notch 35 to hold the cylinder latch out of contact with the notches 14 of the cylinder, and a rear notch 36 for holding the hammer in iiring position.

One of the important features of this invention is the provision of the slidable and spring pressed plunger 40 in the hammer for operating the cylinder latch 41. This latch is pivotally mounted in the frame 3 by the screw 42 and has an arcuate end 43 for engaging the cylinder notches 14, and an opposite beveled end 44 which engages the projecting end of the plunger 40. The latch is a flat member and is mounted over the torsion spring 45 on the screw 42. One end of the spring has a hook 46 which bears on the under surface of the latch normally urging the end 43 in the direction of the cylinder and another hooked end 47 which is seated in a hole 48 bored in the frame 1.

The hammer is cut back on one side to provide the recess 50 (Fig. 8) which receives the end 44 of the latch. The hole 51 in which the plunger 40 is inserted cuts through the recess leaving part of the plunger exposed and in position to engage the latch end 44. The hole 51 is quite deep and receives the plunger spring 52 which presses the end of the firing the plunger outwardly. The plunger is cylindrical but has The firing pin assembly comprises a cylinder 60 which is held in a cylindrical bore of the frame 3 by a cross pin 61. The cylinder 60 is bored out to receive the firing pin 62 and the rebound spring 63 which normally bears on the collar 64 and holds the tiring pin rearward of the cartridge base but can be moved easily under the impact of the hammer to ignite the cartridge.

Still another feature which has contributed to the superior performance and reliability of the improved revolver of the invention is the coil spring 65 and rod 66 which bear against the trigger 69. A hole 67 is bored on a slant into the grip frame 1, as best shown in Fig. 5, the drill just clearing the trigger Aguard 68 at the front. By means of a slanted hole, I can make use of the superior coil spring and rod to regulate the trigger tension, thereby eliminating the unreliable flat springs heretofore used.

When the hammer 12 is in firing position as shown in Fig. 1, the end 44 of the latch lies alongside of the at face 55 of plunger 40 and the spring 45 holds the arcuate locking end 43 in one of the notches 14, thereby locking the cylinder. It will be noted with reference to Fig. 3, however, that the latch end 43 also holds the cylinder locked when the hammer is fully cocked (shown in broken lines). In this position the end 44 slides over the end of plunger 40 and is accordingly not blocked. As the hammer moves forward, the plunger backs into the hole and soon reaches a position clearing the end 44 and the spring 52 then snaps the plunger to the position shown in Fig. 1. During this cycle, the latch end 43 is in positive pressed contact with one of the notches 14. When the hammer is moved rearward to the loading position with the scar end of the trigger in notch 35, as shown in Fig. 2, the flat face 55 of the plunger bears against the end 44 from below and depresses the end 43 of the latch out of the notch 14 and the cylinder is accordingly released and is free to be rotated clockwise. This is the loading and unloading position of the cylinder. The frame 3 carries a gate (not shown) which can be swung open to permit insertion of the cartridges. When loaded, the gate is closed and then the hammer is either moved forward to the safe position with the sear in notch 34, at which position the latch is in locking engagement with the cylinder, or to the fully cocked position. With reference to Fig. 3, it will be noted that just after the hammerris moved to clear notch 4 35l that the end 44 of the latch can snap under the end of the plunger 40, as shown in full lines, and again assume the locking position of the latch.

When the cartridges have been fired, the gate is again opened and the hammer set in the position of Fig. 2 with the cylinder freely rotatable. Single-action revolvers of the type known as the Frontier or Colt Army have a rod mounted along one side of the barrel to push the cartridge cases out of the cylinder and a similar device (not shown) is preferred for use in this revolver.

I claim:

l. The improvement in revolvers having a hammer, a cylinder and a latch for the cylinder in operative connection with the hammer which comprises a resiliently operated plunger mounted in the hammer having means for limiting the movement thereof, said latch having a pivotal connection between its ends with the revolver frame and having one end portion for effecting a locking engagement with a notch in the cylinder and a spring for pressing said end portion into locking engagement and another end portion positioned to engage the plunger, the operative position of the plunger end portion being such that when the hammer is turned to an intermediate cocking position the plunger presses the latch out of the locking engagement leaving the cylinder freely rotatable and when said hammer is fully cocked said plunger assumes an out-ofthe-way position permitting the spring to press the latch into locking engagement with the notch to hold the cylinf der in firing position.

2. The improvement in revolvers according to claim 1 which comprises a torsion spring for operating the latch.

3. The improvement in revolvers according to claim 1 in which the plunger is mounted in a hole in the hammer and engages a coil spring in the hole and the hammer is recessed for movement therein of the end of the latch which engages the plunger.

References Cited in the ile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 611,826 Wesson Oct. 4, 1898 650,931 Ehbets et al. June 5, 1900 1,004,172 Johnson Sept. 26, 1911 1,046,268 Cobb Dec. 3, 1912 

